Good beer is regional
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009 | Beer
I received the fall issue of Taps Magazine from erik for Christmas. Taps bills itself as “Canada’s Beer Magazine”, probably because it is Canada’s only beer centric magazine, beginning operations in 2007. I’ve enjoyed reading Taps, but in my estimation, Taps is more like Ontario’s beer magazine. Don’t get me wrong, I like Taps and I think that it is well worth reading for any Canadian beer enthusiast. At the same time, it is irksome as a westerner to read a “Canadian” publication that is so Ontario focused. I don’t blame the good people of Taps for their bias; they are from Ontario and Ontario is what they know. That being said, start on the Leafs and I’ll throw some hate your way.
What reading Taps has made me realize is that good beer is largely regional. If I can’t buy the beer or visit the pub or brewery being discussed in a publication, what good does it do me? Mill Street might be the best brewpub on earth, but reading about it just gets me angry at its inaccessibility. The exception to my regional outlook on beer might be travel, where learning about a destination’s beer culture ahead of time might be a very tasty investment.
When considering starting this beer blog I did a lot of research, I read a lot of beer blogs and I went to a lot of beer websites. The only two websites that I consistently have the urge to revisit are the BC Beer Blog and CAMRA Vancouver for their wealth of local news and information. These two sites are coincidentally operated by one Rick Green, who’ve been lucky enough to have comment on this blog. Rick, we love getting our weekly CAMRA newsletters, but that last month between blog posts was torture! What I love about Rick’s writing is it’s local focus; he tells us of upcoming events I can actually attend, of casks we can actually drink from, and of all the beer goings on in and around our area.
Don’t get me wrong, I will continue to read Taps and I will definitely try some of Mill Street’s wares the next time I’m at the Irish Heather. I’m only an Ontario hater when it comes to the Leafs. My point is that the beer news that excites me the most is local beer news, which is convenient considering that the good beer I will most likely enjoy is local beer. I want to stay abreast of everything going on in the beer world, but I feel like most people would be missing out by not delving into their local beer scene. Imports will always have their place, but to me, good beer means local beer. You never know, the tastiest brews might be just down the road.
Cheers,
Chris
13 Comments to Good beer is regional
Glad to hear I’m not spamming you, Chris 
.
Sorry for the hiatus from my blog. I fell ill, the holidays hit, and I started a new day job which, together, left me little time to get creative. I’m getting back into a rhythm.
Hats off to you and Erik for starting this blog. I enjoy reading about your experiences and hope it will inspire more people south of the Fraser to break away from the macro masses. Looking forward to the day when I hear of a new CAMRA chapter opening up!
As for “Taps,” I definitely agree it currently has an eastern bias. To be able to truly call it “Canada’s Beer Magazine,” they need to have a more national-oriented editorial, which means publishing articles from writers throughout the country. With all the people coming here from east of the Rockies, they may not be able to pay us little more than lip service for much longer.
To read about East Coast beer and not be able to get it here is bear baiting. Fortunately, we have been able to get Dieu du Ciel, Half Pints, Steamwhistle, and Mill St. at Brewery Creek. I hope they’ll be able to bring in more. Of course, the more they sell, the more…
Hi Chris,
I am a member of the TAPS team that puts together the only beer publication in Canada. Thank you for taking the time to write about the magazine.
When we released our first issue under the new management back in December of 07, it was very Ontario based. The spring issue that followed was also full of Ontario news, events and stories. However, over the last couple of editions we have touched on a good number of stories from coast to coast, adding two writers from BC to tell the beer news has been great. We are always looking for more ways to incorporate more beer news from other provinces, so feel free to send anything my way. I pass it along to the editor to see if it could be included.
I understand what your saying. When Connie Proteau wrote about Crannog Ales I wanted to visit; when Joe Wiebe wrote about the BC winter beers, I wanted to be salivate. But, should I visit sometime soon, I now have a better idea of how to spend my time.
Rick – Right now most of the writer’s reside in Ontario; therefore, it gets a lot of attention. Besides, Ontario is the biggest beer drinking province in Canada and there are a lot of events that take place in the pubs/beer bars that are worth telling. As I mentioned, we have added two writers from BC, Craig Pinhey covers the East Coast, Mirella Amato covers Quebec and so on. Going down the road, it would be nice to include more and more regional news from the brewing industry. See me information about your CAMRA chapter for example.
It is encouraging to hear that you will continue to read the magazine! Also, thanks for the blog link to my personal site.
Cheers,
Troy
“Support your locals”
Great post Chris. Beer, unlike wine and spirits, has been a regional drink for most of its existence. Sadly, pasteurization, the railroad and large container shipping has made beer a globally traded commodity. The North American craft brewing renaissance in the 1970′s helped to once again make beer a regional drink.
I agree that TAPS is more of an Ontario beer magazine. However, over the course of their four 2008 editions it is possible to see a slow shift in focus towards the whole of Canada – not just Ontario. Their latest release has a great article on Barley Wines with reviews from all over the country.
I really like how the Brewing News has dividing North America into seven brewing regions – BC belonging to the Northwest. For a regional focus I turn to the Northwest Brewing News; most of the breweries featured in this publication are within road trip distance from Vancouver.
Thanks Rick, I’m glad you like our blog. Although we aren’t accomplished writers, I hope we can make a difference with out enthusiasm for beer. And no need to apologize for the hiatus in blogging, it’s just great to have you back. As for the East Coast beer baiting, I did end up picking up Mill St. Stock Ale and every Dieu du Ciel I haven’t yet tried, among other things, at Brewery Creek today at lunch. I’m also going to see if the Irish Heather still has any Mill St. Tankhouse Ale on Friday. Hopefully I’ll know what all the fuss is about soon enough.
Hello Troy,
First off, thank you for bringing us Canada’s only beer magazine. I do enjoy reading it and will continue to do so in preparation for ventures East. I appreciate how difficult it must be to cover a country as vast as ours. I get that Ontario is Canada’s biggest everything market (beer included) and, likewise, gets more coverage at the national level. At the same time, we westerners don’t always want to hear about everything Ontario, which is why we prefer Sportsnet to TSN and the CBC and turn to local blogs and Northwest Brewing for our beer news. It’s great that Taps is picking up on this sentiment and expanding their team to cover specific regions. I look forward to reading the BC section of future Taps issues.
And you are very welcome for the link; I think your blog is great!
Word Erik, Northwest Brewing News rocks my world. We should go to Portland this summer. No, wait, we need to go to Portland this summer.
Hi Troy,
Thanks for your comment explaining what’s going on behind the scenes at “Taps.” It’s good to see that steps are being taken to live up to the “Canada’s Beer Magazine” moniker. I realize it’s not something you can do overnight.
In starting off, you go with the most direct route to, at the very least, breaking even — i.e. appealing to the largest beer market. Publishing is a cutthroat business, so I wish you all the best! As Erik mentioned, given our respective proximity to the Northeast and Northwest US, I think it’s easier to have a regional publication than a national one. Not only is everyone in your market closer, we’re all in the same time zone.
Out West, we’re so used to seeing things Ontario being passed off as “Canada” that we’ve become a tad jaded about that. However, our recent connection and Greg Clow’s visit to my blog are positive developments that I hope will only grow.
Cheers,
Rick.
Chris, enthusiasm makes all the difference. The challenge is in expanding your audience. You’re on to a good start!
[...] touched on a really great topic in his previous post, Good beer is regional. I could not agree more – the best beer is usually local beer. This is not to say that we do not [...]
I agree to an extent. However, don’t overlook the importance of imports: http://bcbrews.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/the-importance-of-imports/.
Thanks Rick, I’m not too worried about our site’s traffic as long as we are having fun and drinking good beer. And I agree that imports are very important, especially when they are available for me to drink!
I agree that imports are important, I don’t have the time or the money to fly to the Czech Republic for a weekly beer run. However, I do not like to see import beer put on a pedestal and marketed as premium – there is nothing premium about Stella. Large macro giants such as InBev are not helping to clarify the difference between premium and foreign. I think it is important to have a balance between local and imported beer.
January 24, 2009
[...] a previous post, I accused Taps Magazine, “Canada’s Beer Magazine”, of focusing overly on Ontario [...]
January 14, 2009